TAKING THE LEAD – Cape Cod Academy’s Nate Olsen and Elizabeth Pemberton edge ahead of another team of sailors in the O’Day Trophy Qualifiers at Hyannis Yacht Club on April 25.

The skies may have been a bit overcast and the air cool, but April 25 was a great day for sailing, especially for the sailors taking part in the O’Day Trophy Qualifiers at Hyannis Yacht Club.

A total of 10 high school teams took part in races in the hopes of qualifying for a spot in the annual O’Day Trophy Championship held April 26 in Portland, ME.

Among those teams were the Barnstable High School Red Raiders, whose skills on the waves led them to a second-place finish and a trip to Portland, where they placed 14th in the A Division.

While the Raiders weren’t able to earn a place in the Mallory Trophy races in Florida, head sailing coach Andrew Nugnes was impressed with their overall performances.

“With the shifty winds, and very strong current it was anyone's day,” he said. “Barnstable struggled to get off the line and was figuring out the current all day, [but] I am proud of our success at the qualifier and to be able to compete at such a high level on Sunday.”

Racing began on April 25 just after 9 a.m. when the first group of sailors hit the water. Barnstable saw strong performances from Patrick Meade, as well as Mariel Marchand and Ryan McLane, who sailed in the A division, and Mary-Kate Mezzetti and Andrea Liptack who sailed in the B division. Meade, filling in for an exhausted Marchand, sailed to a second place finish and won a race in the A division.

“To put this in perspective, 52 schools sailed to qualify in five different locations on Saturday, Hyannis being one of them,” said Nugnes. “Out of Hyannis, Tabor finished first, Barnstable right behind in second, and Wellesley high in third. Only four public schools made it to the finals on Sunday, Barnstable obviously being one of them.”

On Sunday Marchand and McLane had a second place finish around the first mark, but due to a change in the winds in Portland the race was abandoned.

“We never got our speed back all day,” said Nugnes, who said that his sailors battled a ripping current throughout the day, as well.

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Also participating in the Qualifiers for the first time was the newly formed Seahawks Sailing Club. Although the Cape Cod Academy sailors weren’t able to qualify for the next day’s races in Maine, finishing ninth of 10 teams, they had a strong showing for a new team.

“It went pretty well,” said head coach Brent Jansen. “We finally had an opportunity to sail against a bunch of teams at the same time. Normally we sail three and three. This time it was one of our boats against nine others. It was a great chance to see where we stand.”

Jansen praised the efforts of his fledgling team, including sailors Nate Olsen and Elizabeth Pemberton.

“Nate and Elizabeth just really stepped it up,” he said. “It was great to see.”

In many of the races the CCA sailors battled to fourth or fifth place finishes. According to race results the Seahawks were just 12 points away from a fifth place finish.

“That shows you how tight the racing was,” said Jansen. “We made mistakes that cost us points. If we had just made a couple of minor adjustments we’d have reached our goal [of fifth place].”

That Tabor Academy was the overall winner came as no shock to Jansen, the former head coach at Milton.

“They have the reputation,” he said. “But I was very happy with where we ended up during the day.”

Jansen’s expectations for next year’s team are high.

“A lot of the kids I’ll be able to work with throughout the summer, and in the fall when a lot of kids will be forced to stop,” he said. “In the fall we’ll arrange for some practices to keep the kids from getting too rusty.”

Jansen feels that as the team’s skills improve, they should qualify for bigger races.

“We should easily qualify for the New England Championships and possibly nationals,” he said. “I think it’s a reasonable expectation and I think all the kids would love to see that happen.”

In the meantime, Jansen’s sights are set on expanding the team.

“If we can get some other kids that will help raise the level of our team,” he said. “We’ll have no boundaries. We’ll be able to compete against the St. George’s and the Tabor’s. I’d like to take at least one race away from [Tabor]. Just one race. That will be a highlight.”